Acoma Pueblo ( , ) is a
Native American pueblo
Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...
approximately west of
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
, in the United States.
Four communities make up the village of Acoma Pueblo: Sky City (Old Acoma), Acomita, Anzac, and
McCartys. These communities are located near the expansive
Albuquerque metropolitan area
The Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Tiguex (named after the Southern Tiwa), is a metropolitan area in central New Mexico centered on the city of Albuquerque. The metro comprises four counties: Bernalillo, Sa ...
, which includes several large cities and towns, including neighboring
Laguna Pueblo. The Acoma Pueblo tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity,
whose historic land of Acoma Pueblo totaled roughly . Today, much of the Acoma community is primarily within the
Acoma Indian Reservation.
Acoma Pueblo is a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
.
According to the 2010 United States Census, 4,989 people identified as Acoma.
[U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Census 2000 American Indian and Alaska Native Summary File (AIANSF) - Sample Data, Acoma alone, H38] The Acoma have continuously occupied the area for over 2,000 years,
making this one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States (along with
Taos and
Hopi
The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...
pueblos).
[ Acoma tribal traditions estimate that they have lived in the village for more than two thousand years.][
]
Names
The English name ''Acoma'' was borrowed from Spanish (1583) or (1598). The Spanish name was borrowed from the Acoma word meaning 'person from Acoma Pueblo'. itself is derived from (singular; plural: ). The name does not have any meaning in the modern Acoma language. Some tribal authorities connect it to the similar word , 'preparedness, place of preparedness', and suggest that this might be the origin of the name. The name does not mean 'sky city'. Other tribal elders assert that it means 'place that always was', while outsiders say it means 'people of the white rock'.
''Acoma'' has been spelled in various other ways in historical documents, including ''ákuma, ákomage, Acus, Acux, Aacus, Hacús, Vacus, Vsacus, Yacco, Acco, Acuca, Acogiya, Acuco, Coco, Suco, Akome, Acuo, Ako,'' and ''A’ku-me.'' The Spanish mission name was .
is the Spanish word for 'village' or 'small town' and 'people'. In general usage, it is applied both to the people and to the unique architecture of the southwestern native tribes.
The Acoma are called ( in Western Keresan, in Zuni, and in Navajo
The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language.
The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...
.
Language
The Acoma language is classified in the western division of the Keresan languages
Keres (), also Keresan (), is a Native American language, spoken by the Keres Pueblo people in New Mexico. Depending on the analysis, Keres is considered a small language family or a language isolate with several dialects. If it is considered a ...
. In contemporary Acoma Pueblo culture, most people speak both Acoma and English, elders speak an endangered indigenous variant of New Mexican Spanish
New Mexican Spanish (), or New Mexican and Southern Colorado Spanish refers to certain traditional varieties of Spanish language in the United States, Spanish spoken in the United States in New Mexico and southern Colorado, which are different ...
.
History
Origins and prehistory
Pueblo people are believed to have descended from the Ancestral Puebloans
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southe ...
, Mogollon, and other ancient peoples. These influences are seen in the architecture, farming style, and artistry of the Acoma. In the 13th century, the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned their canyon homelands due to climate change and social upheaval. For more than two centuries, there were migrations in the area. The Acoma Pueblo emerged by the 13th century. However, the Acoma themselves say the Sky City Pueblo was established in the 11th century, with brick buildings as early as 1144 on the mesa. Evidence for their antiquity is the unique lack of adobe in their construction. This early founding date makes Acoma Pueblo one of the earliest continuously inhabited communities in the United States.
The Pueblo is situated on a mesa
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...
, about west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The isolation and location of the Pueblo has sheltered the community for more than 1,200 years as they sought protection from the raids of the neighboring Navajo
The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language.
The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...
and Apache
The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
peoples.
European contact
The first mention of Acoma was in 1539. Estevanico, a slave and was the first person of African descent to explore North America, was the first non-Indian to visit Acoma and reported it to Marcos de Niza, who related the information to the viceroy of New Spain after the end of his expedition. Acoma was called the independent Kingdom of Hacus. He called the Acoma people ''encaconados,'' which meant that they had turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue.
The robi ...
hanging from their ears and noses.[Wagner, Henry R. 1934. Father Marcos de Niza. ''New Mexico Historical Review, 9'' (2): 184–227.][Villagrá, Gaspar Pérez de. 1933. ''History of New Mexico'' (transl. G Espinosa). Los Angeles: Quivira Society.]
Lieutenant Hernando de Alvarado of conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's expedition described the Pueblo (which they called ''Acuco'') in 1540 as "a very strange place built upon solid rock" and "one of the strongest places we have seen." Upon visiting the Pueblo, the expedition "repented having gone up to the place." Further from Alvarado's report:
It is believed Coronado's expedition were the first Europeans to encounter the Acoma (Estevan was a native Moroccan). Alvarado reported that first the Acoma refused entry even after persuasions, but after Alvarado showed threats of an attack, the Acoma guards welcomed the Spaniards peacefully, noting that they and their horses were tired. The encounter shows that the Acoma had clothing made of deerskin, buffalo hide, and woven cotton, as well as turquoise jewelry, domestic turkey
The domestic turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo domesticus'') is a large fowl, one of the two species in the genus ''Meleagris'' and the same species as the wild turkey. Although turkey domestication was thought to have occurred in central Mesoamerica ...
s, bread, pine nut
Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are traded locall ...
s, and maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
. The village seemed to contain about 200 men.
Acoma was next visited by the Spanish 40 years later in 1581 by Fray Agustín Rodríguez and Francisco Sánchez Chamuscado, with 12 soldiers, 3 other friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...
s, and 13 others, including Indian servants. The Acoma at this time were reported to be somewhat defensive and fearful. This response may have been due to the knowledge of the Spanish enslavement of other Indians to work in silver mines in the area. However, eventually the Rodríguez and Chamuscado party convinced them to trade goods for food. The Spaniard reports say the pueblo had about 500 houses of either three or four stories high.
In 1582, Acoma was visited again by Antonio de Espejo
Antonio de Espejo (c. 1540–1585) was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition, accompanied by Diego Perez de Luxan, into what is now New Mexico and Arizona in 1582–83.pg 189 - The expedition created interest in establishing a Spanish col ...
for three months. The Acoma were reported to be wearing mantas. Espejo also noted irrigation in Acomita, the farming village in the north valley near San Jose River, which was two leagues from the mesa. He saw evidence of intertribal trade with "mountain Querechos". Acoma oral history does not confirm this trade but only tells of common messengers to and from the mesa and Acomita, McCartys Village, and Seama.[Garcia-Mason, Velma. 1979. Acoma Pueblo. In ''Handbook of North American Indian: Southwest'' (Vol 9, pp 450–466). Washington: Smithsonian Institution.]
Juan de Oñate
Juan de Oñate y Salazar (; 1550–1626) was a Spanish conquistador, explorer and viceroy of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in the viceroyalty of New Spain, in the present-day U.S. state of New Mexico. He led early Spanish expedition ...
intended to colonize New Mexico starting from 1595 (he formally held the area by April 1598). The Acoma warrior Zutacapan heard of this plan and warned the mesa and organized a defense. However, a pueblo elder, Chumpo, dissuaded war, partly to prevent deaths and partly based on Zutancalpo's (Zutacapan's son) mentioning of the widespread belief that the Spaniards were immortal. Thus, when Oñate visited on October 27, 1598, Acoma met him peacefully, with no resistance to Oñate's demand of surrender and obedience reported. Oñate demonstrated his military power by firing a gun salute. Zutacapan offered to meet Oñate formally in the religious kiva, which is traditionally used as the place to make sacred oaths and pledges. However, Oñate was scared of death and in suspicious ignorance of Acoma customs refused to enter via ladder from the roof into the dark kiva chambers. Purguapo was another Acoma man out of four chosen for Spaniard negotiations.
Soon after Oñate's departure, Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá visited Acoma by himself with a dog and a horse and asked for other supplies. Villagrá refused to get off his horse and left to follow Oñate's party. However, Zutacapan convinced him to return to receive supplies. In questioning by Zutacapan, Villagrá said that 103 armed men were two days away from Acoma. Zutacapan then told Villagrá to leave Acoma.
On December 1, 1598, Juan de Zaldívar
Juan de Zaldívar (1514–1570) was a Spanish official and explorer in New Spain. He served as a city councillor of Guadalajara from 1539 to 1570. He explored Northern New Spain (the modern-day Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora as well as ...
, Oñate's nephew, reached Acoma with 20–30 men and peacefully traded with them and had to wait some days for their order of ground corn. On December 4, Zaldívar went with 16 armored men to Acoma to find out about the corn. Zutacapan met them and directed them to the homes with the corn. Zaldívar's people then divided into groups to collect the corn. The traditional oral Acoma narrative tells that a group attacked some Acoma women, leading Acoma warriors to retaliate. The Spanish documents do not report an attack on the women and say that the division of the men was a reaction to Zutacapan's plan to kill Zaldívar's party. The Acoma killed 12 of the Spaniards, including Zaldívar. Five men escaped, although one died from jumping over the citadel, leaving four to escape with the remaining camp.
On December 20, 1598, Oñate learned of Zaldívar's death and, after receiving encouraging advice from the friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...
s, planned an attack in revenge, as well to teach a lesson to other pueblos. Acomas requested help from other tribes to defend against the Spanish. Among the leaders were Gicombo, Popempol, Chumpo, Calpo, Buzcoico, Ezmicaio, and Bempol (a recruited Apache
The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
war leader). On January 21, 1599, Vicente de Zaldívar (Juan de Zaldívar's brother) reached Acoma with 70 soldiers. The Acoma Massacre started the next day and lasted for three days. On January 23, men were able to climb the southern mesa unnoticed by Acoma guards and breach the pueblo. The Spanish dragged a cannon through the streets, toppling adobe walls and burning most of the village, killing 800 people (decimating 20% of the 4,000 population) and imprisoning approximately 500 others. Almost all of the remaining inhabitants were enslaved or left the town. The pueblo surrendered at noon on January 24. Zaldívar lost only one of his men. The Spanish amputated the right feet of men over 25 years old, and by some accounts one or more toes of such enslaved men's right feet, and forced them into slavery
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
for 20 years. They also took males aged 12–25 and females over 12 away from their parents, putting most of them in slavery for 20 years. The enslaved Acoma were given to government officials and various missions. Two other Indian men visiting Acoma at the time had their right hands cut off and were sent back to their respective Pueblos as a warning of the consequences for resisting the Spanish. On the north side of the mesa, a row of houses still retains marks from the fire started by a cannon during this Acoma War. (Oñate was later exiled from New Mexico for mismanagement, false reporting, and cruelty by Philip III of Spain
Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...
.)
Survivors of the Acoma Massacre rebuilt their community between 1599 and 1620. The town remained uninhabited for several months, out of fear of more attacks, until it began to be rebuilt in December 1599. Oñate forced the Acoma and other local Indians to pay taxes in crops, cotton, and labor. Spanish rule also brought Catholic missionaries
Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...
into the area. The Spanish renamed the pueblos with the names of saints and started to construct churches in them. They introduced new crops to the Acoma, including peaches, peppers, and wheat. A 1620 royal decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
created Spanish civil offices in each pueblo, including Acoma, with an appointed governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
to take command. In 1680, the Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé, Popé's Rebellion or Po'pay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the Indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger t ...
took place, with Acoma participating. The revolt brought refugees from other pueblos. Those who eventually left Acoma moved elsewhere to form Laguna Pueblo.
The Acoma suffered high mortality from smallpox epidemics, as they had no immunity to such Eurasian infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
s. They also suffered raiding from the Apache, Comanche
The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
, and Ute
Ute or UTE may refer to:
* Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin
* Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah
* Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah
* Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...
. On occasion, the Acoma would side with the Spanish to fight against these nomadic tribes. Forced to formally adopt Catholicism, the Acoma proceeded to practice their traditional religion in secrecy, and combined elements of both in a syncretic blend. Intermarriage and interaction became common among the Acoma, other pueblos, and Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
villages. These communities would intermingle in a kind of creolization to form the culture of New Mexico.
San Esteban Del Rey Mission
Between 1629 and 1641 Father Juan Ramirez oversaw construction of the San Estevan Del Rey Mission Church. The Acoma were ordered to build the church, moving of adobe, straw, sandstone, and mud to the mesa for the church walls. Ponderosa pine
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...
was brought in by community members from Mount Taylor, over away. The church has an altar flanked by -high wood pillars. These are hand carved in red and white designs, representing Christian and Indigenous beliefs. The Acoma know their ancestors' hands built this structure, and they consider it a cultural treasure.
In 1970, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.[ and ] In 2007, the mission church was designated a National Trust Historic Site, the only Native American site in that ranking as identified by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit organization.
19th and 20th century
During the 19th century, the Acoma people, while trying to uphold traditional life, also adopted aspects of the once-rejected Spanish culture and religion. By the 1880s, railroads brought increased numbers of settlers and ended the pueblos' isolation.
In the 1920s, the All Indian Pueblo Council gathered for the first time in more than 300 years. Responding to congressional interest in appropriating Pueblo lands, the U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
passed the Pueblo Lands Act in 1924. Despite successes in retaining their land, the Acoma had difficulty in preserving their cultural traditions in the 20th century. Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
missionaries established schools in the area, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
forced Acoma children into boarding schools
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
. By 1922, most children from the community were in boarding schools, where they were forced to use English and practice Christianity. Several generations became cut off from their culture and language, with harsh effects on their families and societies.
Present day
About 300 two- and three-story adobe buildings stand on the mesa, with exterior ladders used to access the upper levels where residents live. Access to the mesa is by a road blasted into the rock face during the 1950s, navigable by car and bus. Footpaths down the mesa can still be used. Approximately 30 or so people live permanently on the mesa, with the population increasing on the weekends, as family members come to visit, and tourists, some 55,000 annually, visit for the day.
Acoma Pueblo has no electricity, running water, or sewage disposal. Reservation lands surround the mesa, totaling . Tribal members live both on the reservation and outside it. Contemporary Acoma culture remains relatively closed. According to the 2000 United States census, 4,989 people identify themselves as Acoma.
Culture
Governance and reservation
Acoma government was maintained by two individuals: a ''cacique'', or head of the Pueblo, and a war captain, who would serve until their deaths. Both individuals maintained strong religious connections to their work, representing the theocracy
Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...
of Acoma governance. The Spanish imposed a group to oversee the Pueblo, but their power was not taken seriously by the Acoma. The Spanish group would work with external situations and comprised a governor, two lieutenant governors, and a council. The Acoma also participated in the All Indian Pueblo Council, which started in 1598 and arose again in the 20th century.
The Acoma control approximately of their traditional land. Mesas, valleys, hills, and arroyos dot the landscape that averages about in altitude, with about of rain each year. Since 1977, the Acoma have increased their domain through several land purchases. On the reservation, only tribal members may own land and almost all enrolled members live on the property. The cacique is still active in the community and is from the Antelope clan. The cacique appoints tribal council members, staff, and the governor.
In 2011, Acoma Pueblo and the Pueblo of Santa Clara were victims of heavy flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...
. New Mexico supplied more than $1 million to fund emergency preparedness and damage repair for victims, and governor Susana Martinez requested additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
.
Warfare and weaponry
Historically, engagements in warfare were common for Acoma, like other Pueblos. Weapons used included clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands a ...
, stones, spears, and darts. The Acoma later would serve as auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...
for forces under Spain and Mexico, fighting against raids and protecting merchants on the Santa Fe Trail. After the 19th century, raiding tribes were less of a threat and Acoma military culture began to decline. The war captain position eventually would change to a civil and religious function.
Architecture
Acoma Pueblo has three rows of three-story, apartment-style buildings, which face south on top of the mesa. The buildings are constructed from adobe brick, with beams across the roof that were covered with poles, brush, and then plaster. The roof for one level would serve as the floor for another. Each level is connected to others by ladders, serving as a unique defensive aid; the ladders are the only way to enter the buildings, as the traditional design has no windows or doors. The lower levels of the buildings were used for storage. Baking ovens are outside the buildings, with water being collected from two natural cisterns
A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster.
Cisterns are disti ...
. Acoma also has seven rectangular kivas and a village plaza, which serves as the spiritual center for the village.
Family life
About 20 matrilineal
Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...
clans were recognized by the Acoma. Traditional child rearing involved very little discipline . Couples were generally monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
, and divorce was rare. A quick burial followed death, then four days and nights of vigil
A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...
. Women wore cotton dresses and sandals or high moccasin boots. Men wore cotton kilt
A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
s and leather sandals. Rabbit and deer skin was also used for clothing and robes. In the 17th century, horses were introduced to the Pueblo by the Spanish. Education was overseen by kiva headmen, who taught about human behavior, spirit and body, astrology, ethics, child psychology, oratory, history, dance, and music.
Since the 1970s, Acoma Pueblo has retained control over education services, which have been keys in maintaining traditional and contemporary lifestyles. They share a high school with Laguna Pueblo. Alcoholism, drug use, and other health issues are prominent on the reservation and Indian Health Service
The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an operating division (OPDIV) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Native ...
hospitals and native healers cooperate to battle health problems. Alcohol is banned on the Pueblo. The community is served by the Acoma-Canoncito-Laguna (ACL) Hospital run by the Indian Health Services and located in Acoma. Today, 19 clans still remain active.
Religion
Traditional Acoma religion stresses harmony between life and nature. The Sun is a representative of the Creator deity
A creator deity or creator god is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions separate a ...
. Mountains surrounding the community, the Sun above, and the Earth below help to balance and define the Acoma world. Traditional religious ceremonies may revolve around the weather, including seeking to ensure healthy rainfall. The Acoma also use kachinas in rituals. The Pueblos also had one or more kivas, which served as religious chambers. The leader of each Pueblo would serve as the community religious leader, or ''cacique''. The cacique would observe the Sun and use it as a guide for scheduling ceremonies, some which were kept secret.
Many Acoma are Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, but blend aspects of Catholicism and their traditional religion. Many old rituals are still performed. In September, the Acoma honor their patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
, Saint Stephen
Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity.["St ...]
. For feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
, the mesa is opened to the public for the celebration. More than 2,000 pilgrims attend the San Esteban Festival. The celebration begins at San Esteban Del Rey Mission, and a carved pine effigy
An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...
of Saint Stephen is removed from the altar and carried into the main plaza with people chanting, shooting rifles, and ringing steeple
In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...
bells. The procession then proceeds past the cemetery, down narrow streets, and to the plaza. Upon arriving at the plaza, the effigy is placed in a shrine
A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
lined with woven blankets and guarded by two Acoma men. A celebration follows with dancing and feasting. During the festival, vendors sell goods, such as traditional pottery and cuisine.
Subsistence
Before contact with the Spanish, Acoma people primarily ate corn, beans, and squash. ''Mut-tze-nee'' was a popular thin corn bread. They also raised turkeys, tobacco, and sunflowers. The Acoma hunted antelope, deer, and rabbits. Wild seeds, berries, nuts, and other foods were gathered. After 1700, new foods were noted in the historical record. Staples included blue corn drink, pudding
Pudding is a type of food which can either be a dessert served after the main meal or a Savoury (dish), savoury (salty or sweet, and spicy) dish, served as part of the main meal.
In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based des ...
, corn mush, corn balls, wheat cake, peach-bark drink, paper bread, flour bread, wild berries, and prickly pear fruit. After contact with the Spanish, goats, horses, sheep and donkeys were raised.
In contemporary Acoma, other foods are also popular, such as apple pastries, corn tamale
A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...
s, green-chili stew with lamb, fresh corn, and wheat pudding with brown sugar.
Irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
techniques such as dams and terraces were used for agriculture. Farming tools were made of wood and stone. Harvested corn would be ground with hands and mortar.
Ethnobotany
A list of Acoma Pueblo ethnobotany shows 68 documented plant uses.
In 1932, George R. Swank published a Master's thesis titled "The Ethnobotany of the Acoma and Laguna Indians," containing short sections on the Puebloans' history, culture and mythology as well as an extensive treatment of plant uses and names.
Economy
Historical Acoma economic practices are described as socialistic or communal. Labor was shared and produce was distributed equally. Trading networks were extensive, spreading thousands of miles throughout the region. During fixed times in the summer and fall, trading fairs were held. The largest fair was held in Taos by the Comanche. Nomadic traders would exchange slaves, buckskins, buffalo hide, jerky
Jerky is lean trimmed meat strips which are Food drying, dehydrated to prevent Food spoilage, spoilage and seasoned to varying degrees. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent Microorganism, microbial growth through o ...
, and horses. Pueblo people would trade for copper and shell ornaments, macaw
Macaws are a group of Neotropical parrot, New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the Tribe (biology), tribe Arini (tribe), Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation con ...
feathers, and turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue.
The robi ...
. Since 1821, the Acoma traded via the Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...
. The arrival of railroads in the 1880s made the Acoma dependent on American-made goods, which suppressed traditional arts such as weaving and pottery.
Today, the Acoma produce a variety of goods. They grow alfalfa
Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...
, oats
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seed ...
, wheat, chilies, corn, melon, squash, vegetables, and fruit, and they raise cattle. They have natural reserves of gas, geothermal, and coal resources. Uranium mines in the area provided work for the Acoma until their closings in the 1980s. After that, the tribe provided most employment. However, high unemployment rates trouble the Pueblo. The uranium mines left radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...
pollution, causing the tribal fishing lake to be drained and some health problems within the community.
Tourism
Tourism is a major source of income for the tribe. In 2008, Pueblo Acoma opened the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum at the base of the mesa, replacing the original, which was destroyed by fire in 2000. The center and museum seek to sustain and preserve Acoma culture. Films about Acoma history are shown and a café serves traditional foods. The architecture was inspired by pueblo design and indigenous architectural traditions, with wide doorways in the middle, which in traditional homes make the bringing of supplies easier. The windowpanes contain flecks of mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...
, a mineral which is used to create mesa windows. The complex is also fire resistant, unlike traditional pueblos, and is painted in light pinks and purples to match the landscape surrounding it. Traditional Acoma artwork is exhibited and demonstrated at the center, including ceramic chimneys crafted on the rooftop. Arts and crafts also bring income.
Acoma Pueblo is open to the public by guided tour from March until October, though June and July have periods of closure for cultural activities. Photography of the Pueblo and surrounding land is restricted. Tours and camera permits are purchased at the Sky City Cultural Center. While photography is allowed with permit, video recordings, drawings, and sketching are prohibited. All photography is forbidden within the church.
The Acoma Pueblo also has a casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
and hotel the Sky City Casino Hotel. The casino and hotel are alcohol-free and are maintained by the Acoma Business Enterprise, which oversees most Acoma businesses.
Arts
At Acoma, pottery remains one of the most notable artforms. Men create weavings and silver jewelry, as well.
Pottery
Acoma pottery dates back more than 1,000 years. Dense local clay, dug up at a nearby site, is essential to Acoma pottery. The clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
is dried and strengthened by the addition of pulverized pottery shards. The pieces then are shaped, painted, and fired. Geometric patterns, thunderbirds, and rainbows are traditional designs, which are applied with the spike of a yucca
''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...
. A potter lightly strikes the side of the pot upon completion and holds it to his or her ear; if the pot does not ring, it will crack during firing. If this is found, the piece is destroyed and ground into shards for future use.
Communities
* Acomita
* Anzac
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...
* McCartys
* Sky Line
* Old Sky Line
Notable people
* Loren Aragon, fashion designer
* Marie Chino, traditional pottery artist
* Vera Chino, traditional pottery artist
* Lucy Lewis, traditional pottery artist
* Georgene Louis, attorney and member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
The New Mexico House of Representatives () is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature.
There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the South ...
* Simon J. Ortiz, poet, author, and educator
* Anton Docher, "The Padre of Isleta", French priest[Keleher and Chant. ''The Padre of Isleta''. Sunstone Press, 2009, chap.4- p. 30.36.]
* Rachel Concho, traditional pottery artist known for seed pots
Gallery
File:Runners, Acoma (1909).jpg, Acoma runners,
File:Julio 03.gif, Photograph of Enchanted Mesa taken from Acoma in 1899
File:AcomaIllustration1846.jpg, Illustration of the Acoma mesa from 1846
File:AcomaPuebloReflection.gif, Acoma Pueblo and its reflection in a pool of water
File:Edward S. Curtis Collection People 072.jpg, Acoma water girls by Edward S. Curtis
File:"Catching the Bread" part of the ceremony of the Fiesta de San Esteban (Saint Stephen), Acoma Pueblo, ca.1900 (CHS-4514).jpg, Fiesta de San Esteban, Acoma Pueblo, c. 1900
File:Sky City Cultural Center, Acoma.jpg, The Sky City Cultural Center
File:Lucy lewis fineline jar.jpg, Fineline black-on-white olla
An olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes like the irrigation of olive trees. ''Ollas'' have short wide necks and wider bellies, resembling beanpots or ...
by Lucy M. Lewis, c. 1960–1970s, collection of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
File:An Acoma squaw dress made by Acoma Indian men only, ca.1898 (CHS-5165).jpg, Acoma dress made by men, c. 1898
File:Pueblo of Acoma, Mesa Encantada, Acoma, N. M (NYPL b12647398-62175).tiff, Acoma, Mesa Encantada, 1898
File:Edward S. Curtis Collection People 055.jpg, Acoma woman, 1926
File:Curtis Old trail at Acoma 1904.jpg, Old trail (entrance) to Acoma Pueblo, 1904
File:Curtis Acoma from the South 1904.jpg, View of Acoma from the south, 1904
File:Corral between the rock walls near the Acoma Pueblo, 1886 (CHS-4530).jpg, Corral between the rock walls near the Acoma Pueblo, 1886
File:Building at Acoma Peublo.JPG, An Acoma building
File:AcomaPuebloFromDistance.jpg, View of Acoma mesa, 1899
See also
* San Estevan Del Rey Mission Church
* Acoma Indian Reservation
* Solomon Bibo
* Enchanted Mesa
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Cibola County, New Mexico
* List of National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico
This is a complete List of National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico. New Mexico has 47 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), including Raton Pass which is shared with Colorado, and listed by the National Park Service as in that state.
Existing ...
* List of Indian reservations in the United States
This is a list of Indian reservations and other tribal homelands in the United States. In Canada, the List of Indian reserves in Canada, Indian reserve is a similar institution.
Federally recognized reservations
There are approximately 567 fed ...
* List of Native American peoples in the United States
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.
* List of the oldest buildings in the United States
References
Further reading
* Minge, Ward Alan and Simon Ortiz. ''Acoma: Pueblo in the Sky''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press (1991).
External links
*
*
Acoma Polychrome Water Jar
(video), The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, Smarthistory
Smarthistory is a free resource for the study of art history created by art historians Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Smarthistory is an independent not-for-profit organization and the official partner of the Khan Academy for art history. It is ...
*Albert J. Capron
''The Legend of Pueblo de Acoma, the Cloud City of New Mexico.''
The Pacific Monthly, Vol. II, Nr. 3, July 1899, p. 109 - 116, in Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
AcomaZuni.com: Acoma "Sky City"
*
Ácoma, the sky city: A study in Pueblo-Indian history and civilization
(1926), Mrs. William T. Sedgwick, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acoma Pueblo
Pueblo peoples
Pueblo great houses
Native American tribes in New Mexico
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
12th-century architecture
Buildings and structures in Cibola County, New Mexico
Populated places in Cibola County, New Mexico
History of Cibola County, New Mexico
National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico
Historic American Buildings Survey in New Mexico
Tourist attractions in Cibola County, New Mexico
National Register of Historic Places in Cibola County, New Mexico
Pueblos on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico